Reversal 28: Fires of Home
by Higuchimon
Summary: Asuka has to survive a fight with Bewitching Phantom Thief.


**Series:** Reversal||**Story:** Fires of Home  
**Characters:** Asuka, Bewitching Phantom Thief||**Ship:** N/A  
**Chapters:** 1-1||**Words:** 2,154  
**Genre:** Drama||**Rated:** PG  
**Challenges:** Diversity Writing Challenge, YGO GX, reversal AU, E3, 1-shot with no dividers  
**Notes:** Asuka will have more of a story later. This duel demanded to be told.  
**Summary:** Asuka has to survive a fight with Bewitching Phantom Thief.

* * *

Asuka wasn't surprised to see the rocks rising out of the ground, each one faintly shimmering, the marks that denoted a circle of death on each one of them. Only one of them would step out of this circle alive: the winner of the duel.

Bewitching Phantom Thief smirked as he drew his cards, duel disk manifesting on his arm a heartbeat earlier. "Do you truly think you can win?"

"We'll find out, won't we?" Asuka drew her cards and squared up her shoulders. This was a fight to the death, but at the same time, it would keep the ghost here so he couldn't track down Cyber Prima. If she could get to the others in time, pass on the information, then whatever happened to Asuka would be more than worth it.

Though if it came to it, she would gladly surrender the duel and accept her own death. Better that than all the rumors that she'd heard.

"The first turn's mine!" Asuka declared, seeing what her cards had for her. Bewitching Phantom Thief only tilted his head and waited to see what she would do.

She wasted no time at all. "I activate Fusion! From my hand, I fuse Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater, to summon Cyber Blader! Turn end!" Her monster couldn't attack this turn, but she would have a strong defense until then. There weren't many monsters someone could summon on their first turn that would be able to crack the twenty-one hundred point attack.

But Bewitching Phantom Thief only took his turn with ease. "I summon Dream Pierrot. Do you know his effect?" Bewitching Phantom Thief admired the clown that appeared before him with a nearly gentle smile. Asuka did not trust it at all. "When it turns from attack to defense mode, a monster on your side of the field is destroyed. Oh, it seems that you only have one monster. How _sad_."

Asuka's shoulders tensed. This wouldn't normally be a problem. But she refused to trust anyone who willingly served Haou.

"I play Earthquake, changing all monsters on the field to defense mode!" Not much of his mouth could be seen behind his cloak, but Asuka thought that he smiled. "Which means that my monster's effect destroys yours."

Energy slashed across the field as a low rumble rose, sending both monsters stumbling to the ground. Dream Pierrot knelt quickly, but the earth itself split underneath Cyber Blader, the fissure swallowing the warrior's scream even as it swallowed her.

"This does mean I can't attack this turn," Bewitching Phantom Thief declared with a sigh. "But don't worry. I'm not going to let you escape unharmed." A card flicked between gloved fingers. "Fireball! Five hundred damage!"

From above there came a burning blast of fire that burned away the night, slamming hard into Asuka. She could not help the scream, falling several steps backward. It wasn't much of a hit to her life points, but the tips of her hair singled and she quickly patted out the flames on her clothes.

"Now, I set one card, and end my turn. What do you have to stop me now?"

Asuka shook her head to clear it; the blaze's pain faded after a few seconds. "Let's see. I draw!"

Her deck wanted to help her. She'd always known that; she'd fought to gain their trust for years. So far it had worked very well. Now wasn't an exception.

"I activate Machine Angel Ritual! Using Cyber Prima as the cost, I summon Cyber Angel Benten!"

Cyber Angel Benten, holding her fan in one hand, leaped into existence beside Asuka. Asuka spared a thought for Cyber Prima; it wouldn't be the wise thing to try to summon her in this duel, not with her on the way to the next couriers, but using her for this would be all right.

"Cyber Angel Benten, attack his Dream Pierrot!" It wouldn't cause any battle damage, but Benten's monster effect would at least deliver a little damage. She could not help but eye that face-down card. She wanted to know what it was, and this would tell her that too. Some chances had to be taken.

No sooner had Cyber Angel Benten taken a single step but Bewitching Phantom Thief raised one hand to gesture to the set card. "Face-down, activate! Drain Shield!"

He needed say no more than that. She knew the card; she'd seen it played before. Not only would the battle be halted, but now Bewitching Phantom Thief's life points grew by Cyber Angel Benten's attack, giving him almost six thousand – five thousand eight hundred to be precise – life points.

Her lips pressed together. This wasn't going very well. "I end my turn."

Bewitching Phantom Thief definitely smiled now when he drew his new card. "Now I summon Apprentice Witch! She's a very useful person to have on my field, since by her existence, she increases all the attacks of my Dark monsters by five hundred – that includes her, by the way. Sadly Dream Pierrot is an Earth monster and can't take advantage of the effect."

Asuka said nothing. She only waited, eyes resting on the new arrival, tall in robes of blue and a spill of red-gold hair. The thief wasn't done yet.

"But Apprentice Witch's effect also effects your monster – sort of. Not only does it increase the attack of Dark Monsters, but it reduces that of Light monsters by four hundred points. So your Cyber Angel Benten is now down to fourteen hundred points. That's going to hurt, I'm sure."

Asuka raised her head. "If you're going to attack, then attack. Don't keep on talking about it."

That got a laugh. "One moment, please. I have one more card to play before I cause you pain. This one hurts me – I'm sure you're _ever_ so wounded because of this."

That got Asuka rolling her eyes. Bewitching Phantom Thief raised up one card.

"This is Demonsblood Sacrifice. I target a monster in my hand, deck, or graveyard, and offer an amount of my life points equal to their attack in order to Special Summon them!"

Spikes shot outward from the card and slashed down across the thief's chest, bright blood spattering all over. The thief didn't move, or even seem to notice.

He was, after all, a ghost already.

"I can only target a Demon-Type monster by this effect and on the turn that they're Special Summoned I cannot attack with them, and their attack is halved. On my next turn, of course, that will all be changed." She could see the smile clearly now. "I summon Angmar the Demon Monarch!"

His life points fell by two thousand and four hundred, as the new monster rose up next to him. It stood tall and black armored, a fierce glare delivered across the field to Asuka, arms crossed over its chest. She stared back at it relentlessly.

Again he wasn't done yet. "I really would like to attack right now. But I do intend to win this duel and that means I need to kill you. I would apologize but you're trying to kill me, too."

Asuka didn't smile. If he would just get on with it, the better she'd like it.

"I equip Giant's Might to your Cyber Angel Benten. Since your life points are lower than mine, the effect halves Benten's attack points: putting them at six hundred and fifty." He made a very sad noise that Asuka refused to believe for so much as a breath. "Now, you wanted me to attack? Very well. Apprentice Witch, take that eyesore of hers down."

Apprentice Witch darted forward, pale pink wings spread outward as she shot across and struck Benten with her broom. Benten cried out briefly before exploding into shards of light and fading away. Asuka tensed; she knew what would come next.

"Dream Pierrot! Now that you're in attack mode, strike!"

The clown blazed across and Asuka stumbled back, pain racing up and down her, her heart pounding, trying hard not to fall to her knees. She wasn't gone yet. She needed to keep going.

"What's this?" It wasn't a voice that she completely recognized but it sounded a touch familiar; perhaps she'd heard it once or twice. She rubbed her eyes and looked around, her eyes focusing at last on two figures standing outside the circle.

"Looks like a member of the resistance fighting against one of Haou's army," the other said. Asuka rubbed her eyes again and focused.

Two warrior women, both in full armor, and now that she saw them, she knew their cards.

"Tactical Warrior. Valkyrie Knight."

Both nodded towards her. "A greeting, warrior," Tactical Warrior said, voice calm and welcoming. "Should you win this battle, we feel that you should know that your companion succeeded in her errand."

Tension flowed out of Asuka as if it had never been there to begin with. She drew herself up a breath later. This didn't mean that she could back down. She needed to get out of here, just to see Cyber Prima again, and all of those friends of hers as well.

"We'll escort you if you like," Valkyrie Knight offered. "But do finish this first."

Bewitching Phantom Thief's eyes narrowed towards them. "Those who stand against Haou-sama do not often live to regret their choices."

"You aren't going to live to let him know," Asuka snapped. "I'm your opponent. You pay attention to _me_."

She had one card to draw, one that might tilt the balance of the duel. She smiled when she looked at it.

"First, I play Monster Reborn, recalling Cyber Blader from the graveyard!" Asuka grinned as her favorite monster leaped up before her, ready and willing to strike once again. "But the graveyard's still on my side tonight! I play Fulfillment of the Contract, paying eight hundred life points to Special Summon Cyber Angel Benten!"

Bewitching Phantom Thief tilted his head a fraction. "Why? Benten will still be affected by Apprentice Witch's effect. Neither of your monsters can touch my Angmar, either."

"Watch this." Asuka did not hold back the grin that split her features. "Cyber Angel Benten, attack Apprentice Witch and get rid of her!"

Without Giant's Might's effect, Cyber Angel Benten being at fourteen hundred attack was still more than enough to finish Apprentice Witch off. Asuka covered her eyes for a second, then kept on with her next move.

"You've only got two monsters now: and that means Cyber Blader's _second_ effect takes over now! Her attack is doubled, more than enough to finish Angmar! Do it, Cyber Blader!"

Again her monster shot across and there wasn't a chance for Angmar to do anything, the explosion knocking Bewitching Phantom Thief backwards a half a dozen places. Both watching knights nodded in approval, as Asuka tried to get her breath back. She didn't have enough to be able to finish him off, unfortunately. Not right now.

The ghost recovered himself. All of the false amusement vanished now. He yanked one card from his deck and bit the words off.

"I tribute Clown Pierrot to call forth Demon's Summoner!" The creature that appeared now roared menacingly, tail lashing, horns sharp and tilted, perhaps a full seven feet tall, and wielded a skull-tipped staff. "Demon's Summoner, destroy Cyber Angel Benten!"

A good choice; it would do more damage. Asuka could appreciate it even as she fell backwards, dark energy wrapping around her monster before she exploded. Now she had just five hundred points – so unless she could finish it on this turn of hers, it would all be over with for her.

She glanced at the deck. _Let's do this._ Win or lose, live or die.

She raised her eyes to where the two knights watched. She knew little about them, but their fire, their warmth, drew her. She wanted to know more. Which meant she had to survive through this.

Asuka drew the card. "Pot of Greed," she murmured, before drawing two more. Then she smiled the most relieved smile of her entire life – or at least of this duel. "First, I play Fusion Recovery – I regain Fusion from my graveyard, and one of the monsters that I used for a Fusion Summon. In this case, Blade Skater. Also: I equip Cyber Blader with Fusion Weapon, increasing her attack by fifteen hundred."

She stared at Bewitching Phantom Thief. "Cyber Blader, Glissade Slash! Blade Skater, Accel Slicer!"

Spinning around one another, Cyber Blader and Blade Skater slashed into Bewitching Phantom Thief, slamming him into the surrounding stones as the last of his life points drained away.

When Asuka found herself capable of looking up again, she was on her knees, almost all of her energy drained. Tactical Warrior and Valkyrie Knight stood before her, hands held outward.

"I'm Shula. This is Larunda. Come on," Valkyrie Knight said. "Let's go."

She reached and took their hands, and the fire welcomed her home.

* * *

**The End**

**Notes:** I really love having Asuka meet fire-based warriors. I have Plans. Not just here but for other universes as well. Hell's Ice!Asuka is going to be fun with this. So will Firestarter!Asuka.


End file.
